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Overcoming Animal Phobias

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Overcoming Animal Phobias Publisher’s Note This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the pub- lisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent pro- fessional should be sought. Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books Copyright © 2005 by Martin M. Antony and Randi E. McCabe New Harbinger Publications, Inc. 5674 Shattuck Avenue Oakland, CA 94609 Cover design by Amy Shoup Acquired by Catharine Sutker Text design by Tracy Marie Carlson ISBN 1-57224-392-9 Paperback All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America New Harbinger Publications’ Web site address: www.newharbinger.com 07 06 05 10987654321 First printing For Jacqui and Don Campbell —M.M.A. For Adelia and Angus —R.E.M. Contents acknowledgments vii introduction 1 1 about animal phobias 7 2 where do animal phobias come from? 24 3 developing a hierarchy 37 4 preparing for treatment 48 5 confronting your fear 65 6 changing your thoughts 96 7 staying well 117 vi overcoming animal & insect phobias 8 helping someone else with an animal 129 phobia references 142 about the authors 147 acknowledgments We are grateful to Jennifer Harrington and Chris Watson for their comments and suggestions for improving the chapters of this book. Also, thanks to Peter Bieling, Michele Boivin, Mike Coons, Beth McConnell, Todd Murphy, Laura Summerfeldt, and Mark Watling for help- ing to expand upon our list of popular movies with animal scenes (chapter 4). Finally, thanks to Catharine Sutker, Carole Honeychurch, Brady Kahn, and everyone else at New Harbinger for their support. As always, they have been great to work with. introduction If you find yourself experiencing extreme fear when faced with certain kinds of animals, you should know that you are definitely not alone. Surveys of the general population have found that animals are among the most commonly feared situations or objects. For example, one study of more than eight thousand people in the United States found that 22.2 percent of individuals reported an intense fear of animals (Curtis et al. 1998)—a higher percentage than was found for any other feared situation (for example, heights, enclosed places, storms, or blood) asked about in the survey. Not only are animal fears common but a number of studies have found that people often fear more than one type of animal (Antony and Barlow 2002), making the problem even worse. After all, animals are all around us. 2 overcoming animal & insect phobias Most people are able to live with their fears, often by avoiding the animals that make them feel uncomfort- able. If you are terrified of snakes but you never see snakes or even think about them, you really don’t have a problem. However, for some individuals, the fear of ani- mals is a significant concern. For example, Erin had an extreme fear of cats. She was constantly scanning her environment for cats, and she often avoided going for walks in her neighborhood for fear of seeing one. Occa- sionally, she was awoken by nightmares about cats, and she avoided visiting friends and family members who had them as pets. She was even nervous watching television and movies, because she never knew when a cat might appear. Clearly, Erin’s fear was a problem for her. When a fear causes significant interference in your life, or when it is distressing for you to have the fear, the condition is considered a phobia. In one large survey (Curtis et al. 1998), 5.7 percent of individuals had a fear of animals that was severe enough to be called a phobia. the purpose of this book Although there are a number of books available on the topic of phobias, this is the first book to focus specifically on strategies for overcoming fears and phobias of animals. It is designed for individuals who have a fear of one or more animals or insects; it is also designed for their fami- lies. You may be able to use the strategies described in this book on your own. Alternatively, the techniques described introduction 3 in this book may work best for you when used under the supervision of an experienced therapist, or perhaps with a family member or friend who is able to work with you to overcome your phobia. Professionals who work with peo- ple who suffer from animal fears and phobias will also find this book useful. the structure of this book This book is organized into eight chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 provide information on the nature of animal phobias, including examples of typical animal phobias, research on the prevalence of animal phobias, a review of effective treatments, and theories regarding how animal phobias begin. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on strategies to prepare for treatment, including developing a hierarchy of feared situ- ations, from most to least difficult to confront, finding the materials you need for treatment, and considering whether to seek professional help. Chapter 5 discusses expo- sure-based strategies for overcoming animal phobias. This chapter discusses the core of the treatment—if there is one chapter you read several times, it should be chapter 5 (we will return to this issue shortly). Chapter 6 discusses strategies for changing anxious thinking about animals, and chapter 7 will help you to develop a plan to maintain your improvements over time. Finally, chapter 8 is aimed at family members or friends who know someone with an animal phobia and who may be involved in helping that person overcome his or her fear. 4 overcoming animal & insect phobias how to use this book We recommend that you read through the entire book initially, to obtain a broad overview of how the treatment works. As you work through chapters 1 through 4, you should complete the recommended exercises, which will prepare you for using the treatment strategies described in chapters 5 and 6. Once you have finished reading the entire book, return to chapters 5 and 6. We recommend that you read these chapters a second time and that you repeat the exercises (especially the exposure exercises in chapter 5) until your fear has decreased. Chapter 7 should be read again, after your fear has decreased and you are ready to consider strategies for staying well. Although the entire book may be of interest to family members or others who are helping someone work through his or her phobia, chapter 8 will be particularly useful for this purpose. We recommend that you use a journal or notebook to complete the exercises throughout this book. In fact, don’t bother reading any further until you have obtained your journal. Without practicing the various strategies described in the book, it is unlikely that you will notice a significant change in your fear. Keeping a journal will make it easier to keep up with the exercises. can a self-help book really help? Of all the different types of specific phobias that people have, animal phobias are the most thoroughly researched. introduction 5 Procedures for overcoming animal phobias are well devel- oped, and there is considerable evidence that severe fears of animals can be overcome fairly quickly for most individ- uals. In fact, in some studies, up to 90 percent of people with an animal phobia were able to overcome their fears in a single session lasting, on average, less than three hours (Öst 1989). Not only that, but most studies find that people who overcome their animal phobias are usually able to maintain their improvements over the long term (Öst 1996). However, most of the research on treating animal phobias is based on treatment with a trained therapist. Only a small number of studies have investigated the use of self-help treatments for animal phobias, and all of these have been based on spider phobias. The few studies that have been conducted have had mixed results, but overall, treatment with a therapist tends to be more effective. Nevertheless, between 30 and 60 percent of people can achieve significant improvement with just a thirty-page self-help manual (Hellström and Öst 1995; Öst, Salkovskis, and Hellström 1991; Öst, Stridh, and Wolf 1998). Some people clearly can overcome their fears on their own. Based on research by psychologist Lars-Göran Öst and his colleagues (Öst, Stridh, and Wolf 1998), the best predictors of whether you will benefit from self-help treat- ment for animal phobias include how motivated you are to improve and the extent to which the treatment makes sense to you (in other words, how credible or believable the manual seems). Here are a few variables that were 6 overcoming animal & insect phobias found to play little or no role in predicting whether self-help treatment will succeed: the age at which your fear began, the number of years this fear has been pres- ent, whether there is a history of phobias in your family, and the severity of your phobia. So it doesn’t matter how long you have had your fear or how severe it is. If you are motivated to conquer your fear and you follow the detailed suggestions outlined in this book, you have a good chance of overcoming your fear. Although treatment is usually effective and brief, it is rarely easy. Treatment will require you to confront the animal you fear in a controlled, gradual way. In all likeli- hood, exposure to your feared animal will lead you to feel very uncomfortable and frightened. Initially, you may experience panicky feelings, crying, nightmares, and other unpleasant reactions.
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